Book review: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Genre: Mystery
Release date: March 4, 2025
Goodreads rating: 4.16
My rating: 4.0
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I’m so glad I picked up Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy! It’s a great blend of literary fiction and mystery with memorable characters and a great suspenseful setting.
The story takes place on a remote Antarctic island cut off from society. There, Dominic, a widowed father of three, works as the caretaker of a research base. Life is isolated for this small family when one day, a woman washes onshore, the lone survivor of a ship wreak. Who is this woman? Why was she on a ship heading towards this island? Why is Dominic and his family the only remaining survivors of this island? What happened
Told from the different POVs of the 5 main characters, the story is wonderfully atmospheric. You are pulled into the claustrophobic bunkers of the research base, the wild beaches with their marine life, and the home quarters that protect this family from the violence of climate change.
Themes of survival, family, and legacy are central to the book—not just human survival but the resilience of nature too. Short recurrent passages that delve into botany describe nature’s attempts at survival.
And I’ve got to say that I did not see the major plot twist coming. Cuddos to McConaghy for the great writing.